Unique Ways to Connect Kids and Teens to the Ocean and Engage Them as Science Communicators

October 18, 2023

Presented by:

• Nora Nickum, Senior Ocean Policy Manager at the Seattle Aquarium and author of Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest
• Patricia Newman, award-winning author of Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean, Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem , and A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
• Tressa Arbow, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region as the Education & Outreach Coordinator
• Esteban Camacho Steffensen, international muralist with major works created throughout the Pacific Northwest, Costa Rica, China, and Spain

How do we connect kids and teens to the ocean and empower them to act? Story–in all its forms. Humans are hard-wired to spin tales to create emotional connections that help us better understand the world. Join nonfiction storytellers Nora Nickum and Patricia Newman, artist Esteban Camacho Steffensen, and educator Tressa Arbow, who each have ways of translating their passion for ocean conservation and complicated ocean science into forms that entice kids and teens to ask questions, dig deeper, and engage with their communities. Together we will discover new ways to visualize concepts like climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, habitat loss, food web disruption, and underwater noise using an interdisciplinary approach that includes science, art, writing, and speaking.